Writing a resume for an executive-level position demands a particular approach. Because of the high expectations for responsibility and leadership in executive jobs, you must clearly demonstrate in your resume that you have the capabilities to meet those challenges. This means highlighting concrete achievements in your previous positions and emphasizing your soft skills.

History Versus Achievements

In a regular resume you might organize the body as a chronological work history. While you also want to outline the flow of your career in an executive resume, you must structure it not around job titles, but around major achievements in those positions. These achievements need to be quantifiable in terms of numbers, preferably involving money that you helped to generate for the company, or money that you helped to save. You should be talking productivity, profits and growth.

Soft Skills

Executives are in positions of leadership and must deal effectively with their subordinate employees. Therefore, soft skills are very important to a potential executive candidate. Again focusing on actual achievements in previous jobs, cite how your soft skills, such as the ability to lead teams, think clearly under pressure and communicate with workers at all levels, have helped you in the past. While a regular resume would also discuss soft skills, these might be cast in terms of your ability to take direction or work as part of a team. In an executive resume they must always emphasize leadership and responsibility.

Network

Executives are valued for the contacts and the networking ability they bring to the company. While in a regular resume you might not take up space to boast about your extensive professional network, you must do this on an executive resume. Ensure your LinkedIn profile is up to date and at least as professionally structured as your resume, and include a link to it on your resume.

Length

While your resume should remain concise, because of the amount of information you need to include, it is permissible for an executive resume to run longer than a regular resume. When composing a regular resume the standard advice is to stick to one page, if possible. An executive resume can certainly run to two pages and probably more. In fact, this is expected, to give you room to demonstrate all of your abilities.